Toledo, Spain. Definitely NOT Toledo Ohio

Toledo is the original capital of Spain.  In 1561, Philip II said, "Fuck this, we're moving to Madrid."  Seriously...he didn't have a real reason other than that he wanted to.  In doing so, however, most of the commerce, human and public services, and money went with him.  The good news is that most of the culture, artisans, and diverse influences stayed.  Today, Toledo remains behind ancient protective walls; its old city centre, virtually untouched.  The New Quarter - on the other side of the river Tagus - bears the schools, hospitals, businesses and train station.

We arrived in a quick 30 minutes from Madrid on a sleek modern train and were met by our guide, Adolfo.  As we approached the old city, we were greeted by an incredible view:

A walk through one of the two well-preserved gates, leads you into the heart of the old city.  The streets are narrow, and twisted like your kid brother's sense of humor - we could have easily gotten lost.

Soooo many cultures have influenced this part of the country: Romans, Visigoths, Moors (as in Muslims from North Africa), and Christians.  And let's not forget the Jewish folks who were there since Roman times (but who were ultimately kicked out by the Christians - right after they kicked out the Moors).  Most interesting is that ALL of these cultures are still present in the art, architecture, and trade craft.

For example, there's the Synagogue of St. Mary, and the Chapel with a bell tower that used to be a Muslim minaret.  Here's the inside of the synagogue:

Different, huh?  Up near the front (where there should be an altar) were Christian symbols including cherubs and the IHS shield.  

Nearby is the converted minaret:

You can't really see them in this picture, but there are bands of Arabic symbols in the stones decorating the tower.  Instead of a call to prayer, the bells ring out as a call to worship.  Way to recycle.

Of course, there's the cathedral:

It's one of the largest in the world.  It took 267 years to build.

And yet, it's just not very pretty on the outside.  Gothic cathedrals usually are very symmetrical (think Notre Dame or the Koln cathedral).  This one, not so much.  See the dome on the right.  El Greco's son designed it.  Apparently he was not a very good painter, so he went into architecture.  Apparently he was not a very good architect. 

The inside, however, is just what you'd expect!

And so our tour for the day ended.  We walked around on our own for a bit and grabbed some lunch before taking a taxi back to the train station (I was not about to try to walk it for fear of getting lost in the streets).  A quick ride back to Madrid and a quick siesta to prepare for our New Year's Eve party.